Loosely based on the true crime mystery dubbed the "Chillicothe Six", On the Savage Side follows two twin girls, Arc and Daffodil, as they grow up in a home and town riddled with addiction. As the girls grow up, they form a circle of close friends who all share the same struggle of addiction and sometimes the need to turn to sex work. Throughout the story, the girls are picked off one by one by the "River Man", an unknown killer who drops their victims in the nearby river to be found later.

I’m not a squeamish person, especially when it comes to reading. But this one did it. This has to be the first book I’ve ever read that had me squirming in my seat and wondering if I could go on.

As with all of Tiffany McDaniel’s work, On the Savage Side is incredible. McDaniel has solidified her place in my library as an auto buy/read. She has to be one of the greatest present day writers.

Read this book for the ending. That’s it, that my review.

Okay, just kidding, I have more to say. But honestly, this book had one of the best endings I’ve read in a while. It was shocking in parts, and heartbreaking in others, and just wrapped the story up perfectly. It’s *chefs kiss*

In general, this book is DARK. It does not shy away from the hardships of addiction, living in poverty, and being a woman. Some of the sections are not for the faint of heart, so I encourage you to be cautious of that going in (and I’m happy to provide specific trigger warnings if you’re worried). However, because it fully embraces the darkness, this story is just so powerful. I worried deeply about each of the characters and viscerally felt pain when things happened to them.

My only (small) issue is that, while I really enjoyed the writing when it came to the action and character descriptions, I had a hard time getting into this style of dialogue. It took me quite awhile into the book to get into a rhythm reading it, and even then I didn’t love the dialogue because it felt slightly over the top. But again, the rest of the book was so good that it was truly a minor personal issue.

Despite my slight complaint about this story, I really enjoyed it and definitely recommend you check it out. Thank you to Knopf Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC!

4.5/5 stars

Wow, this was a very, very tough (but also moving) read, a mystery a very different kind. Inspired by a real unsolved true crime case in Chillicothe, Ohio, the book focuses on twin sisters, Arcade and Daffodil (Arc and Daffy).

Just a heads-up that the book includes sexual abuse, domestic violence, and drug abuse. It's a dark book that doesn't shy away from the harsh realities of poverty, abuse, trauma, and human suffering.

This was my first book by Tiffany McDaniel. She is a writer and poet and her writing is definitely on the poetic side. I loved how nature and the river tied in to the story. In this sense the book reminded me somewhat of The Paper Palace, which had a similar style and some similar themes. It also felt a bit like The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey, which also was inspired by a true crime case and was very focused on humanizing the victims.

I could see part of the ending coming, but it still packed a huge emotional punch.

On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel is a brutal, heartbreaking and beautiful lyrically written novel. McDaniel's previous novel, Betty, is among my favorite books of all time.

On the Savage side tell the story of Arc (Arcade) and Daffy (Daffodil), twins born to drug addicted parents and set against the backdrop of the Chillicothe Ohio Murders.

The positive light in the twins' lives is their grandmother Mawmaw Milkweed. Mawmaw teaches the girls life lessons.

"A witch is not a pointy hat or a broom or warts. A witch is merely a woman who is punished for being wiser than a man. That's why they burned her. They tried to burn away her power because a woman who says more than she's supposed to say and does more than she's supposed to do, is a woman they'll try to silence and destroy."

This was such a stunning novel. The beauty of the prose was exceptional. The characters Daffy and Arc glimmered with creativity, magical thinking and potential, all while surrounded by corruption and neglect, it
was gut-wrenching.

This was a hauntingly beautiful novel; the characters will stay with me a long time. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this novel.

A hard and difficult book to read.
The story line was hard because there’s a lot of bad things that happen.
One has to read between the lines to discern what is actually happening.
I didn’t connect with any of the characters. This book was not for me.

Compelling enough story with writing that takes chances. My one critique is that the girls' living situation was so dark and extreme that it drew attention to itself and away from the storyline.

Well, that was a wild ride! Inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chilecothe Six in Ohio, the author follows a group of friends as they live their lives in a small town. However, these friends are the products of alcoholic and drug addicted caregivers. They also are involved in prostitution. Such twisted lives! We hear their thoughts and words but through a drugged out lens. Their twisted thoughts..and those of the adults around them are hard to read. I was cheering them on as some tried to get out of their toxic lifestyles through rehab and support of others.
Not a typical read for me but I had to know how it would play out!

This book is loosely based on true events, the Chillicothe Six - six women who went missing in Ohio beginning in 2015. Some of those women were found dead, but others were never found at all.

In a way, to me, the murders were not the worst horror in this book. The environment the characters lived in is overwhelming, with every social disaster you can imagine - crushing poverty, prostitution, drug and alcohol addiction, abuse of every kind. The murderer was enabled by that environment, particularly the rampant addiction which led to increased prostitution.

The two main characters in this book are Arcade and Daffodil (Arc and Daffy), twin girls born to a mother who lived with their aunt and grandmother in a dilapidated trailer. The narrator is Arc. The girls were mirror images of each other including their mismatched eyes, one blue and one green. Their mother and aunt were addicts and prostitutes, and did not spare the girls. The book was narrated through their eyes, and it was heartbreaking.

There is a huge twist at the end of the book, where you realize that almost everything you thought you knew was wrong. This book is masterfully written. I would not call it entertainment, but reading it will open a window into a terrible reality.

Trigger warnings include child neglect, child abuse of every kind, prostitution, drug addiction, and death.

I received a review copy from the publisher Knopf via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

"When a woman disappears, how is she remembered? By her beautiful smile? Her pretty face? The drugs in her system? Or by the johns who all have dope breathe and graceless desires?"

This book sucked me in from the very first sentence. It is written so beautifully even though it's about such a dark topic. The desciptions really made me feel like I was there with Daff and Arc. It left me with the same dread filled feeling in the pit of my stomach that I had when I read lullabies for little criminals. I won't say that I enjoyed this book. But it impacted me. I devoured it in a couple sitting and maybe should have read through it slower, took time away. As it's brutal and not easy to read.

This is an emotional sucker punch of a book that deals with severe drug addiction, abuse, poverty, and death. Based on the Chillicothe Six - women who had gone missing and were found murdered in Ohio- the story of Arcade and Daffodil (or Arc and Daffy) will grab you and not let go. Arc and Daffy are twins who love each other so deeply that they’re unable to untangle themselves from each others’ lives. They endure unspeakable tragedies - their mother and aunt are addicts who sell their bodies for drugs. When the twins are forced to repeat the cycle we follow their lives and those of their friends as they try to survive, but the river ends up claiming them one by one.

This novel is hauntingly beautiful, but equally dark and tragic. Arc and Daffy stole my heart as two young girls who want to be loved and protected but are forced to endure hell. You will not forget this book; it will stay with you.

TW: drug abuse, drug addiction, death, rape, pedophilia

Wow, what an incredible and important read. This book is dark and hard to read at times, but necessary. Inspired (not based on) the murders of six women in Chillicothe, Ohio, it immerses the reader into a time and place full of addiction, drugs, abuse, murder, and life. It shows the power held over women, but also the power they hold in a savage world.

Beautifully written, this book has so many deeper meanings behind its words. The symbolism throughout the story is poetic and creative. It makes the reader think not just of what is happening in the plot, but also real life. And if that wasn't enough, there is a major twist in the book that I did not see coming. It's the type of twist that you could reread the book and it would be a completely different story.

I think more authors should write beautiful stories such as this one when writing about true crime. It brought awareness to the real lives lost and how society continued to fail them. It's almost like the author did exactly what the main character always did: turn the savage side around to the beautiful side.

It’s taken me a while to try and process my thoughts into words and still do this book justice.

Tiffany McDaniel’s third novel follows Arc and Daffy, twin sisters from Chillicothe, Ohio. We follow their past and present, and uncover a whole world of trauma. In the present day, a local woman is discovered dead in the river, with more floating bodies racking up fast. Arc’s promise to keep her sister safe become more and more desperate, as they could be next.

This book ripped little pieces of my heart out one by one, and left me an empty shell. Despite the murder mystery element of this story, which is inspired by the unsolved murders of the Chillicothe Six, it is a story of trauma of the deepest, darkest kind. The way that Tiffany touches on abuse, addiction and prostitution is incredible - the issues are tackled very delicately whilst being a stark depiction of the trauma these characters are experiencing. There are some particularly graphic scenes surrounding these topics which were difficult to read, but I kept being drawn back the book despite this because it was so beautifully written.

Tiffany has created such depth with Arc and Daffy, as well as with a lot of the secondary characters in the novel, and their stories were all intertwined perfectly. I wanted to scoop up Arc and Daffy and physically protect them myself from what they went through, as they have such a heartbreaking history. I was in awe as to how Tiffany wrote them with such a pure innocence and naivety, whilst being forced to mature faster than anyone should be expected to and adapt to the violence that surrounded them.

This book honestly left me speechless, and my words here definitely cannot express how incredible this book really is. I cannot recommend this enough.

Do you ever read a book that you know is objectively really good but you just don’t really enjoy it? That was kind of my experience with On the Savage Side. I felt like there was probably something really deep and poetic about this book but I just didn’t really get it.

The writing felt too flowery and poetic to the point where I just felt like I didn’t get it at all. The way everyone in the book talked, it made the characters seem unreal to me like I couldn’t even understand them. From the narrative itself to the dialogue, it was at times overly lyrical and full of metaphors that really went over my head.

As many reviewers have said, this book is BRUTAL. I am not a sensitive reader but there were scenes I had a really hard time getting through because they were violent, dark, and graphic. Just be warned and I definitely wouldn’t recommend this book to sensitive readers.

Also, don’t pick this one up if you’re looking for a crime novel. The crimes in the book are not a central part of the story — rather, the story centers on twin sisters being raised by their addict mother, who works as a prostitute to get by. The missing and murdered girls in the story mainly speak to the treatment of women in this story and are not actually treated as a crime or murder mystery to be solved.

I will say, it kept me engaged enough to finish, even though it was long (IMO, longer than it needed to be) and the end did have an interesting twist. Also, I really appreciated the title and its meaning woven throughout the story.

Ugh. Gawd. Not for the faint of heart. Addicts who feel their addiction thru prostitution start being found dead in the River. Written by a poet—lots of words and symbolism— this was a hard read. Gut wrenching would be a better description. Avidly read until the end with a cringy look. Ugh. Recommended but for those who are into sorrow and depravity.

Twins Arc & Daffy, their mom Addie and Dad, an army vet had a short-lived happy family life. Their dad came home from serving in the war with a drug addiction which led to Addie's addiction. After their dad died, the girls went to live with their grandmother and Addie asked her sister Clover to come live with her. After their grandmother was hit by a car, the girls returned to their mother and aunt. By this time their mother was prostituting herself to pay for heroin. A horrible home for two little girls to grow up in. Completely unsafe with so many men in and out of the house. Yet these little girls, hungry and not well cared for, fell prey to evil. They never stopped dreaming of being an archeologist, a swimmer, a poet, a gardener. But the dreams were just dreams. As young women following in the path of their mother, they began to see their friends and fellow sex workers disappear, some found floating in the river, some still missing. This heartbreaking story is inspired by the true story of The Chillicothe Six (four found dead, two still missing) and the growing number rising since The Chillicothe Six. Tiffany McDaniel's beautiful writing tells us the story of these twins lives "on the beautiful side" and "on the savage side". She brings to life how sex workers end up doing what they do with the bottom line being drug addiction and poverty. Such a huge and growing problem in this country.

Not sure how to rate this book - 5 star for beautiful writing, 5 star for bringing to life and telling the twins story so vividly, 3 star for the heartbreak it leaves me with, 3 star for the brutality. Triggers: drug abuse, prostitution, child rape, brutal assault, child neglect.

My thanks to Net Galley and Penguin Random House/ Alfred A Knopf publishers for an advanced copy of this e-book.

This is a devastatingly beautiful and tragic novel based on the real disappearances of several women in a River town in Ohio. The language is authentic, the emotions are authentic and the River, her own character, is authentic. Exceptional writing raises this mystery to the highest literary fiction and will touch and change everyone who picks it up.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐’𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘵𝘩.”

McDaniel originally won me over with her debut novel The Summer that Melted Everything, and what I believe is one of the most underrated books I’ve ever read. Then she swept me up into her family’s heartache with Betty. So naturally McDaniel’s On The Savage Side was one of my most anticipated releases of 2023.

Inspired by the true crime story of the Chillicothe Six, McDaniel introduces us to twin sisters Arcade and Daffodil. Despite extremely adverse living conditions and constant flow of “johns” visiting their addict mother and aunt, the girls create their own reality, encouraged by their loving grandmother that every savage side has a smooth and beautiful side. As they watched their family deteriorate, Arc vows that she and her sister will live a different life than their mother.

But the savage side is powerful when options are limited and women are treated as disposable and worthless. Soon a woman is found dead in the river that had once been a refuge and playground for the girls, and more follow suit. As Arc’s friends begin to disappear, very few seem to care that a serial killer is targeting drug addicted prostitutes.

On the Savage Side is a heartbreaking story of generational abuse and addiction. It’s a plea for justice for the girls and women who are used and discarded. It’s so heavy and emotional that it took me 3 1/2 weeks to finish. It’s not for everyone, and there are many graphic, upsetting scenes, but after I finished the last page I literally sat there frozen with no words to describe my feelings toward this powerful book.

McDaniel continues to prove that she is brilliant storyteller. While it’s only February, On The Savage side will surely be a contender for my favorite book this year.

I can’t wait to get my physical copy on pub day this Tuesday!

“In life, there is a savage side and a beautiful side.” This book certainly focused on the savage side of things in these poor girls’ lives. Their childhood was bleak but they found bright spots in it together as children are incredibly often able to do even in the face of awful circumstances. This was a dark and difficult read but also compelling and beautifully written. Not for the faint of heart as there are many triggering topics covered.

On the Savage Side is the latest novel by Tiffany McDaniel. Set in Chillicothe, Ohio and based off unsolved murders of six women, it is centered around twins Arc and Daffy. Living with their mother and aunt who are addicts and prostitutes, leads to a life of a constant fight to overcome obstacles.

I have zero complaints about the writing. I love how Ms. McDaniel develops each character, no matter how minor. The women who end up murdered are typically viewed by society as deplorable. However, the realism of the girls, the struggles they endure, allow sympathy to take over.

While the writing was impeccable, my reasoning behind the imperfect score is based on on two factors. One was the length. There were times I felt the story dragged on, or details were added that weren’t really needed. While the story was fantastic, it could have been a tad bit shorter. The second factor, and again, this has nothing to do with the story or writing, was the melancholy of the book. Granted it is about trying to overcome hurdles in life as they relate to prostitution and addiction, every time I thought there was a glimmer of hope, it was followed by more hardship. When I finished the book, I was left with a deep sadness.

This book is definitely not for everyone. However, being a fan of the author, and liking the book as a whole, I would recommend it.

This book was difficult to read. I feel haunted. One of the most unique books I've read. Like her previous work, McDaniels has written a beautifully tragic masterpiece.